Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

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It is my pleasure to introduce on this page the first review by a guest blogger.

Dianagster: welcome to the Movie Poster Drill page!

Make yourself comfortable and tell your edgy personal opinions on the poster for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

Take it away Dianagster!

I have no idea what Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is about.

Nonetheless, this movie poster is telling me that this movie came out this December. Is it maybe a Christmas movie? A really sad Christmas movie about an orphan elf with a horrible secret inside his mouth?

Well, I guess Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock are going to be in the movie so I take it as a sign that this movie is probably going to suck. But wait, that kid, who is that kid? This actor, who is gracing thousands of posters hung on hundreds of movie theaters is a total anomaly to me and I guess, since I won't see this movie (see Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock) then I'll have to wait a few years, hoping that this kid did a swell job in Extremely Loud Incredibly Close, and got a crazy role as a pre-pubescent, extremely mysterious, smart, riveting and haunting tween.

Judging by this poster (assuming we did not read Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock) this movie looks like it might be pretty good. Oh. Wait a minute, it seems it says 'From the director of Billy Elliot' Again, distracted by this awful nugget of information that deters from the nice graphics.

Anyway, for the illiterate, that cannot read anything about Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock or Billy Elliot, this movie poster is visually striking, pretty nice, kinda feels like it's going to be a thoughtful, insightful, if a little intense and kinda boring but still artsy and enlightening kind of movie. It feels like it wouldn't matter if the book or the movie came first but one is sure to follow the other.

Edit: Just read what this movie is going to be about. Let's hope Tom Hanks dies off quite fast and it really is about this enigmatic boy after all.

Elena

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I wish I saw this film entitled Elena. I wish I could know the synopsis perfectly. I wish I could tell you more about Andrey Zvyagintsev, beside the fact that he directed the Golden Lion winner movie The Return and that his last name needs more vowels. 

And, finally, I wish more movie posters would have this style.


I am not afraid to say this is a very nice graphic work, that expresses how a poster should look like. It doesn't show what the movie is going to be about but it subtly suggests the dramatic touch that will torment the characters of this movie.

This movie seems to be about an elder couple, with children from previous marriages and a strong economic discrepancy which will become an even bigger issue when the man has a heart attack and decides to ponder on his will. Knowing this, it is remarkable that the graphic approach reveals just a male silhouette staring at a crow while contemplating his life. What better than this to express the general feeling of the movie?

The title font reveals a clean but edgy attitude that matches perfectly with the two color design. At this point I can just hope that this movie will be as promising as it looks from the cover (and as suggested by the several awards that are an active part of the graphic package). 

In conclusion I wish this movie will be up to the expectations, perfectly portraying a sad story that, as in a dichotomy, will make me happy to have seen.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

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Eyewear advertisements have always had a very unique graphic style supported by perfect lighting. They are especially effective when the face on it belongs to a celebrity.
Too bad this poster is not related to an eyewear brand and it actually looks very similar to the poster for the TV film You don't know Jack.


In this case Gary Oldman is an evil spy whose credibility is greatly improved by using the "Matrix" effect on his face, not to be confused with Al Pacino.   

The line "The enemy is within" is very well located under his eye: how to not agree with that, we all know that dealing with under eyes dark circles is debilitating, especially when it lies within. Awesome for anti aging poster; not very well positioned for a spy movie.

The title font is simple but efficient and is probably the only graphic that makes me think it this is actually a movie about espionage.

Anyway, though apparently this movie is supposed to be good, this poster makes me realize my eyewear is not  trendy enough. Time to go to an optician!

The Hobbit

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Even if the release date is December 2012, almost twelve months from now, there is a lot of buzz about The Hobbit or, at least, this is what the production is aiming for, considering it is a prequel of a movie trilogy that came out eleven years ago.

Needless to say lots of things changed since 2011. Of course the Lord Of The Rings trilogy was one of the biggest success of that year, but so was the band called Baha Men.

So just in case your memories about Frodo and his little gang are blurry, this movie poster is a perfect reminder of what the entire saga is about: a tiny man with furry feet in traditional German clothes also known as a "hobbit" about to walk out his door house for "an unexpected journey". Thanks for that line, I was thinking he was going to check the mailbox!

With all these premises, how to communicate that this is actually a new movie? Pretty easy: using the most common graphic effect in movie posters lately: the diagonal graphic!  

Many new movies like Battleship, Friends with Kids, or Rampart  have a diagonal horizon line for no apparent reason, so what better way to make The Hobbit fit in with 2012 than changing its inclination?

Get ready people, the 2001 Lord of the Ring delirium  is about to get revived, and we can just hope it means a new remix for "Who let the dogs out?"

Contraband

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Finally! I wanted to comment on this movie poster since I saw it on the subway platform; I have to admit it's entertaining to stare at it when you just lost a train, there is a lot going on in this great art piece. Let's analyze it.

On the top is Mark Whalberg, who, after launching Whalburgers, washed the grease off his hands and is back with a gun and an angry face (which, by the way is not very different from his "I love you" or "I'm sorry" face). In case you were afraid that he ate too many burgers and inflated the stunning physical shape he displayed in The Fighter, you don't have to worry about it!  Mark is telling us in this poster, "That's not a pot belly, they're just wads of money I always duct tape to my waist!"

This brings me to discuss the best part of the poster: the duct tape! I bet somebody thought it was a genius idea to put it in the graphic, and share the same feelings Mark Whalberg's belly button is experiencing, but I don't really get the point. What is the point of it? That duct tape is only for tough guys? To me duct tape is a cheap way to solve plumbing issues, definitely not anything to do with contraband.

Lastly, it is really insulting to witness official posters not using ad-hoc pictures but rather resorting to simple freeze frames from the movie. A voice inside of me tells me, "That's what the HD is for!" but then I think, "Probably Giovanni Ribisi would have come up with a less retarded face if he actually knew that he was posing for the poster picture."

In conclusion if you like fast graphic artworks, duct tape and Whalburgers, you probably love this poster, otherwise I hope your train will pass soon.